How is walking different from racing?

Racewalking was originally a competition game played by the British nobility in the 19th century. But after being introduced to America in the wave of migration to new lands, it became popular for many floors. classes took part and became a popular pastime, with competitions in which participants walked nearly 1,000km in six consecutive days at crowded stadiums. This game increasingly attracts a large number of players and spectators - who often bet money on the player who has to give up the earliest.

From a pastime, walking was later legalized as a sport in its home country - England. Basic regulations were enacted and walking was soon recognized as a professional sport. In the early 20th century, walking was first introduced into the program at the 1904 Olympics in St. Louis, USA, with only half a mile, as part of the "almighty" event - the forerunner of today's decathlon. By the 1908 Olympics, separate races, at 1,500m, 3,000 were added.

The name of this sport itself defines it, when athletes have to walk as fast as possible on the way to the finish line. However, there are a lot of regulations attached to ensure players have to follow the correct technique and the rules.

There are two important laws about walking. First, the athlete's back big toe must not leave the ground before the front heel touches the ground. Second, the athlete's supporting leg should extend straight from the point of contact with the ground and stay there until the body passes that touch point.

These laws are monitored with the naked eye without the help of any equipment. As a result, athletes often leave both feet off the ground for a few milliseconds each step, which can be detected through videotape but is often difficult to detect with the naked eye.

Canadian Olympic walking champion Inaki Gomez also admits to breaking the law. He once told The Star, "Your eye can only catch movements slower than 0.6 seconds, so athletes who lift both feet off the ground for less than that time will not be detected. offense".

Depending on the distance of the competition, there will be from 5 to 9 referees monitoring the walking athletes with their naked eyes. These referees will carry two yellow cards to remind offenders with the symbol (~) for "lift both feet off the ground" and (<) for "leg not straightened".

If an athlete receives three cards from different referees, including the umpire, that athlete will be disqualified. At that time, the referee will draw another card - a red card - to announce the disqualification of the athlete from the track.

Walking is available in 3000m, 5000m indoor races, 5000m, 10,000m, 20,000m and 50,000m outdoor races, usually in stadiums. When going to the road normally locked to serve the competition, athletes will compete in distances of 10km, 20km and 50km. At the Olympics - the arena with the highest standards - today, walking has events of 20km for men and women, and 50km separately for men.

According to World Athletics, in the women's category, the world record currently belongs to Chinese athletes, with 1 hour 23 minutes 49 seconds 20km distance set by Yang Jiayu on March 20, 2021, and 3 hours 59 minutes 15 seconds. The distance of 50km was established by Liu Hong on March 9, 2019. In the men's category, these two records are respectively 1 hour 16 minutes 36 seconds 20km distance set by Japanese athlete Yusuke Suzuki on March 15, 2015, and 3 hours 32 minutes 33 seconds set by French athlete Yohann Diniz on 15. August 2014.

In Southeast Asia, walking is also included in the competition program of nearly every SEA Games, but is only popular with the men's and women's 20km distance. The male record of the Regional Games is currently 1 hour 29 minutes 13 seconds set by Malaysian athlete Harbans Singh Narinde in Jakarta 1997. The female record belongs to Vietnamese track and field legend Nguyen Thi Thanh Phuc with 1 hour 37 minutes. 8 seconds set at Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar 2013.

Thanh Phuc is still competing and with her younger brother, Nguyen Thanh Ngung, dominates domestic competitions. At the 2022 National Sports Festival on December 18, also with a distance of 20km, Thanh Phuc won the women's gold medal with a result of 1 hour 42 minutes, while Thanh Ngung won the men's gold medal with 1 hour 32 minutes.